It is a time of fear in the face of freedom, a time of an emptying country and swelling cities, a time for the widening of previous roads and the opening of new paths, yet a time when these paths are mined by knowing algorithms of the all-seeing eye. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection. These are the times when maps fade, old landmarks crumble and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread. Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times.

11 comments to Challenge: Define PostStructuralism As Coherent Without Babbling

Post-structuralism IS an annoying attempt by some academics to evade accountability by sticking to asking questions and avoiding the responsibility of answering them or devising a system to answer them.

Even taken all together, though, your definitions make a post-structuralism that’s pretty small… just a few thoughts to be played with for a while, and integrated if someone likes, as an approach that rejects the end of its own effort.

Why do people make such a big deal about post-structuralism, then? What am I missing?

“A few of these don’t match the challenge, but most of them do.” Thanks for appreciating the effort, it was enjoyable. I matched the challenge and then added some other thoughts, one with tongue in cheek.

“Even taken all together, though, your definitions make a post-structuralism that’s pretty small.” And is that a bad thing? Isn’t poststructuralism small minded? Your point?

“…an approach that rejects the end of its own effort.” It’s so absurd, ironic isn’t it. Like; “There is no truth” cancels itself and “Never say never.” That’s why, “A poststructuralist uses acceptance of their limitations in the pursuit of knowledge, realizing that the intellectual dance and humor of ideas is just a valid as the ever elusive accuracy” is so relevant.

“Why do people make such a big deal about post-structuralism, then? What am I missing?” I wasn’t much aware of poststructuralism before your challenge just very aware of the concepts. I just did it as an intellectual exercise because I was at a boring 2 hour meeting. Why do you ask, “What am I missing?”

I ask “what am I missing”, because I’ve got colleagues (not here at Irregular Times) who loudly profess a poststructuralist perspective, and what they have to say generally sounds like babbling nonsense to me, yet I see other people react to what they’re saying with nodding heads and affirmation. I keep thinking to myself, “What is it that they’re getting that I’m not getting?”

Poststructuralism to me seems to, for all its talk of ambiguity, miss the most essential ambiguity of all: That we can attempt to construct cognitive systems, all the while understanding that the systems we construct, and the structures that we discuss, are all just models, none of them final and absolutely beyond challenge.

The difference between poststructuralists and the rest of us seems to be that poststructuralists make their careers out of talking about how there are limits to knowledge, and stop there, while the rest of us recognize that no system of investigation is perfect, and then get on with doing the best we can.

Huge word, but I’ll take a shot at it. Due to circumstances and emotional states, people have exceptions to the rules from time to time. People change how they feel and what they perceive about ideas and situations all the time. Reminds me of how some people can convince themselves to believe a lie.

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